Adele aus der Ohe

Adele (Adelheit Johanne Auguste Hermine) aus der Ohe (11 February 1861 – 8 December 1937) was a German concert pianist and composer.[1][n 1] Her compositions were published by G. Schirmer Inc.

Adele aus der Ohe
Adele aus der Ohe
Adele aus der Ohe
Background information
Born(1861-02-11)11 February 1861
Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover
Died8 December 1937(1937-12-08) (aged 76)
Berlin, Germany
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Pianist, composer

Life

Adele aus der Ohe was born in Hanover. She initially studied with Theodor Kullak, where American pianist and chronicler Amy Fay heard her playing. Calling her "a little fairy of a scholar, ten years old," Fay wrote: "I heard her play a concerto of Beethoven the other day with orchestral accompaniment and a great cadenza by Moscheles, absolutely perfectly. She never missed a note all the way through."[2]

Aus der Ohe was one of the few child prodigies accepted as a pupil by Franz Liszt; she began studying with him at the age of 12 and stayed with him for seven years (1877–1884),[3] making her American debut playing his First Piano Concerto in the Steinway Hall in New York on 23 December 1886.[4] She promoted Liszt's music throughout her career; Richard Watson Gilder wrote a poem about such interpretations.

Aus der Ohe was also a friend of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, whose First Piano Concerto she performed under the composer's baton at the inaugural concert of Carnegie Hall in New York,[5] as well as at his final concert in St. Petersburg, where the Pathétique Symphony was premiered.

She subsequently settled in the United States, touring there for seventeen consecutive seasons.[2] She returned to Germany in 1906 and died in Berlin in 1937.

Compositional style

Adele aus der Ohe was highly endowed and had a distinctive degree of temperament as a pianist. As already mentioned by magazines and music journals of her time, she was successful not only as such, but also as a composer, as appropriately described in a concert review from Hamburg in January 1910, where she was also honoured by the work she had performed.

Between 1895 and 1906, her name appeared regularly in the renowned publishers catalogue of G. Schirmer (New York) and Ries & Erler (Berlin). Among her compositions are numerous songs, some with words by Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909), several piano works, and duets for violin and piano. And although further prints after 1906 are not available, a note in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik suggests that after her retreat from the American musical life, she continued her composing work.

Repertoire

Aus der Ohe's repertory was large and included both Brahms concertos, the second of which she played as early as 1899 in Boston. She specialized in large-scale works; a typical program she played in Boston consisted of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata, Chopin's Funeral March Sonata, Schumann's Fantasie in C and Liszt's Réminiscences de Don Juan.[6]

Works for piano
Title Opus Number Key Words Year Publishing
Four songs from The new day 1 The birds were singing — Richard Watson Gilder 1895 G. Schirmer
A birthday song —
Not from the whole wide World —
Thistle-down —
Suite No. 1 for Piano 2 Bourrée — — 1895 G. Schirmer
Sarabande —
Menuet —
Gavotte —
Konzertetüde No. 1 für Klavier 3 — C major — 1895 G. Schirmer
Compositions for the Piano 4 Melody F major — 1897 G. Schirmer
Slumber Song —
Rustic Dance —
Five Songs for Soprano or Tenor 5 Rose-dark the solemn Sunset — Richard Watson Gilder 1897 G. Schirmer
After Sorrow's Night F minor
Cradle-song —
I care not if the Skies are white —
Winds to the silent Morn —
Two Songs with Piano Accompaniment 6 The Orphans — Adelbert von Chamisso 1897 G. Schirmer
I grieve to see these Tears — Robert Underwood Johnson
Two Songs with Piano Accompaniment 7 I begged a Kiss from a little Maid — Robert Underwood Johnson 1897 G. Schirmer
Some said they did but play at War —
Suite No. 2 in E major 8 Prelude — — — Ries & Erler
Sarabande —
à la Bourrée —
Air —
Gavotte —
Gigue —
Vier Klavierstücke 9 Eine Sage — — 1901 Ries & Erler
Walzer —
Novelette —
Spinnlied —
Two Pieces for Piano 10 Melodie — — 1902 G. Schirmer
Berceuse —
Mazurka 11 — — — 1902 G. Schirmer
Three Pieces for Violin and Piano 12 Mazurka — — 1903 G. Schirmer
Romanze —
Elfe Tanzt (Dancing Elf) —
Konzertetüde No. 2 für Klavier 13 Am Springbrunnen; eine Erinnerung an die Villa d'Este — — 1906 G. Schirmer
Fünf Klavierstücke 14 Morgenliedchen — — 1906 G. Schirmer
Pastorale —
Walzer —
Lustiges Intermezzo —
Am Sommerabend —
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra 15 — — — — —
Sonata for Violin and Piano 16 — F-sharp major — 1906 G. Schirmer
Suite for Piano WoO — B minor — 1910 Printing unknown

Notes
  1. The church baptismal records from Hannover confirm the date of 11 February 1861.

References
  1. "Ohe, Adele aus der, Adelheit (Johanne Auguste Hermine)". Sophie Drinker Institut (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  2. Schonberg, The Great Pianists, 263.
  3. Schonberg, Harold C. (1987). Great Pianists. Simon and Schuster. pp. 263. ISBN 0671638378.
  4. Lachmund, Carl (1995). Living with Liszt: From the Diary of Carl Lachmund, an American Pupil of Liszt, 1882-1884. Pendragon Press. p. 194. ISBN 0945193564.
  5. CLASSICAL MUSIC; Extra! Read All About It - Carnegie's $1.25 Million Hall, Harold C. Schonberg, The New York Times
  6. Schonberg, The Great Pianists, 265.

Further reading
  • Schonberg, Harold C., The Great Pianists (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987, 1963). ISBN 0-671-64200-6.
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